It is known in the art to provide a wheelchair tie down device for holding a wheelchair at an area or platform or floor of a vehicle, such as a transit vehicle or bus or the like. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,888,038; 6,113,325; and 6,698,983. In such applications, the device may slide or pivot from a stored or retracted position to an in-use position when it is desired to use the device. In some applications, a bus seat may first have to be moved or raised out of the way to make room for a wheelchair at the floor of the vehicle. After the seat is moved or removed, the tie down device may then be manually moved to the in-use position and may be secured or locked relative to the vehicle when in its in-use position. When the wheelchair tie down device is no longer needed, the process is reversed to unlock and move the tie down device to its storage position. The seat may then be lowered back to its normal seating position. Such devices thus require a substantial amount of manual labor by the vehicle operator or other operator to set up and store the tie down devices.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a wheelchair tie down or holding or securing device that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.